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1975 Argentine Grand Prix
Autódromo Municipal Ciudad de Buenos Aires | location = Buenos Aires, Argentina | circuittype = Permanent racing facility | lapdistance = 5.968 | laps = 53 | distance = 316.315 | pole = Jean-Pierre Jarier | polenation = FRA | poleteam = | poletime = 1:49.21 | fastestlap = 1:50.91 | fastestlapdriver = James Hunt | fastestlapnation = GBR | fastestlapteam = | fastestlapnumber = 34 | winner = Emerson Fittipaldi | winnernation = BRA-1968 | winnerteam = | second = James Hunt | secondnation = GBR | secondteam = | third = Carlos Reutemann | thirdnation = ARG | thirdteam = }} The 1975 Argentine Grand Prix, otherwise officially known as the XII Gran Premio de la Republica Argentina, was the opening round the 1975 FIA Formula One World Championship, staged on the 12th January 1975 using the longest version of the Autódromo Municipal Ciudad de Buenos Aires.'GRAND PRIX RESULTS: ARGENTINE GP, 1975', grandprix.com, (Inside F1 Inc., 2015), http://www.grandprix.com/gpe/rr251.html, (Accessed 26/05/2017) The race, which was the twelfth time a Grand Prix was held in Argentina, would see World Champion Emerson Fittipaldi get his title defence off to an near perfect start. Compared to recent seasons it had been a very quiet winter for the major F1 outfits, the biggest change being the retirement of Denny Hulme at , with Jochen Mass promoted to fill his spot. , in contrast, reversed their decision to quit F1 at the eleventh hour, while there were doubts as to whether Ronnie Peterson would race at all after contract negotiations with fell apart. Otherwise the entry list read much as it had at the end of 1974, with the addition of two new efforts in the paddock in the form of and . Qualifying for the opening race would also see some slight alterations to the order, for Jean-Pierre Jarier claimed pole for , beating Carlos Pace of by half a second. The second row featured home hero Carlos Reutemann alongside Niki Lauda, who had come to dominate qualifying in 1974. Fittipaldi would open his title defence from fifth. Unfortunately for the maiden pole sitter his Shadow would never make it to the start, a transmission failure ending his race before it began. His absence gave Reutemann the perfect opportunity to take the lead at the start of his home race, a chance the Argentine racer expertly took. Behind Reutemann it would be chaos at the first corner, with Mass and Jody Scheckter colliding causing the rest of the field to scatter around them. The rest of the opening lap proved far more tame, with Reutemann leading from Pace, Lauda and James Hunt. Lauda and Hunt duelled for third over the following laps, the Brit finally moving through on the eighth tour. Elsewhere, as the began to hunt down the two s, Wilson Fittipaldi in his self built car smashed into the barriers. The ruined car instantly burst into flames on impact, although the oldest Fittipaldi brother was able to escape without injury. Pace, meanwhile, had snatched the lead from Reutemann as attention focused on the burning Copersucar-Fittipaldi, only for the Brazilian to spin out of contention a few laps later. Reutemann retook the lead, only to lose it again when Hunt forced the issue on lap 26, with the Argentine ultimately falling to Fittipaldi the younger a few laps later. It was an impressive charge by the defending Champion, and as he caught and passed Hunt on lap 35 the race was run. Fittipaldi opened his title defence with victory, while Hunt and Reutemann completed the podium. Clay Regazzoni had a quiet run to fourth ahead of Patrick Depailler, while Lauda slipped to sixth after tyre troubles. Background Three months after the conclusion of the 1974 season, the F1 circus headed to Argentina for the opening round of the 1975 Championship.A.H., 'The Argentine Grand Prix', (Motor Sport, 01/02/1975), http://www.motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/february-1975/22/argentine-grand-prix, (Accessed 27/05/2017) It was getting to be a familiar end to the winter for Grand Prix racing, with the Autódromo Municipal Ciudad de Buenos Aires holding the opening round for the fourth year in a row. The entry list, like the calendar, remained largely unchanged from the end of 1974, with only a few minor shuffles of drivers and teams. Defending International Cup for Manufacturers' winners would open their title defence with a new driver line-up, although now double World Champion Emerson Fittipaldi still led the team. The retirement of Denny Hulme at the end of the previous season saw Jochen Mass promoted to be the Brazilian's teammate, with those two continuing to use the M23s they had used last year. The third McLaren entry that had been run in Yardley colours was not present, a result of the complete breakdown of the relationship between sponsor and constructor. 1974 runners up arrived with their usual scarlet pair of cars, with Clay Regazzoni and Niki Lauda at the wheel for the season once again. They ran with their compliment of 1974 cars in Argentina, having decided that their new car, the 312T, needed more time to be made reliable. Its first appearance was scheduled for the start of the European phase of the season, leaving them with upgraded 312B3-74s sporting bigger brakes, reinforced suspension and a strengthened driveshaft. had ended 1974 as the third best team in Formula One, although there was little action of note at Ken Tyrrell's self-run effort. Their driver pairing of Jody Scheckter and Patrick Depailler were resigned for another season, as was their major sponsor ELF. The 007s that the team ran, in contrast, had been modified, although Derek Gardner's changes to the front brakes were not really noticeable to the drivers. Despite claiming three wins the previous season, were looking to get back to the pinacle of F1 in 1975, although it seemed they had once again made no progress over the winter. Indeed, drivers Ronnie Peterson and Jacky Ickx were sent to South America using the very same pair of 72Es they had raced twelve months earlier, the only changes made to the black-gold cars being a new front suspension setup. It therefore looked as though Colin Chapman was going for damage limitation at the start of the season, with the promise of a revised 72E, rather than a brand new design altogether, was set to hit the Grand Prix scene at the Spanish Grand Prix. In fact the turmoil surrounding the team's situation had prompted lead driver Peterson to seek an alternative drive, only for Chapman to tempt him back with an improved deal. The team to have tempted the Swede to leave the Norfolk squad were , who would be one of the only teams to be fielding an entirely new car in Argentina. Jean-Pierre Jarier was the man to pilot the new DN5, although had the Peterson deal gone through then the Frenchman would have been driving a Lotus instead. The second Shadow in Buenos Aires was an updated version of their 1974 car, the DN3B, with Tom Pryce at the wheel for the full season. At , meanwhile, it had been a promising winter, for a deal with Martini finally meant that their cars had some sponsorship. New money meant new cars, or at least updated versions of the BT44s Bernie Ecclestone, which arrived in "B-spec" form after a number of minor tweaks by designer Gordon Murray. Driver-wise the team were still led by Argentina's hero Carlos Reutemann, who was out to win his home race, with Carlos Pace filling the second seat. The situation at had gone from bad to worse over the winter, their only sponsor Motul abandoning them as the team went through another major restructure. The result would be the creation of "Stanley BRM", with one entry for the opening round and only a few spares to support it. Mike Wilds was listed as the Bourne squad's only driver, as Jean-Pierre Beltoise sought a drive elsewhere at the end of a miserable 1974 campaign. Having quit at the end of 1974, arrived in Buenos Aires with a single car, a surprise to most given their rather vocal exit at the end of the previous season. The reason for their reversal was because of a last minute deal with Beta Tools, whose logo was quickly plastered over the team's hastily assembled equipment. Vittorio Brambilla was listed as their driver for the opening round, with a second seat up for grabs to anyone willing to pay for the privilege. had seemed to have fallen apart during the latter half of 1974, and it had been something of a miracle that John Surtees arrived with a team to start the 1975 season. Indeed, the biggest thing to go in the team's favour in the previous twelve months was the signing of promising Northern Irishman John Watson, who had impressed several times in 1974 in a privately entered Brabham. The arrival of Watson had inspired Surtees once again, with the former World Champion racer taking direct control of the TS16s development to keep his sole driver on side. and Frank Williams Racing Cars' partnership came to an end during 1974, although the team's FWs were almost exactly the same as they arrived in Argentina, despite officially being entered as "Williams FWs". The cars themselves had been tided up and fitted with new front bodywork, while the livery had been changed now that Marlboro were no longer a major partner. In terms of the driver line-up Frank Williams had seen little need to change, meaning Arturo Merzario and Jacques Laffite raced for them once again. Graham Hill had been busy over the winter, his plans to retire at the end of the year halted by various changes to the -Embassy Racing project. Having planned to end his driving career, Hill had been tempted back to a race seat after teammate Rolf Stommelen persuaded his backers to supply the team with engines. The new Lola-Alfa was still being built, however, and so Hill and Stommelen would continue to use power for the time being. had been rather frustrated come the end of their maiden F1 campaign, for while James Hunt and the 308 were quick, poor reliability cost them more often than not. The Brit duly spent the entire three month break testing, breaking, and then retesting the team's pair of 308s, with designer Harvey Postlethwaite deploying a number of changes to develop the car. The combined efforts saw the newest 308 sport new wings and suspension, while Hunt himself cut a determined figure. Joining the full time F1 roster were three teams for the western side of the Atlantic. Two, and , fielding Mario Andretti and Mark Donohue respectively, had made their debut at the 1974 Canadian Grand Prix, and were set to compete for a full season after relatively strong debuts. The third came from Brazil, with Wilson Fittipaldi Júnior, older brother of World Champion Emerson, returning to the paddock with a self-built car funded by combine Copersucar. This new, Brazilian built and designed, car used a conventional Ford Cosworth engine, although it was completely encased in bodywork, a trick that most of the European "garagistas" had tried and found to have failed. The only other entrant would be by Argentine car maker , although that and proposed driver Nestor Garcia-Veiga failed to appear. Entry list The full entry list for the is outlined below: Practice Overview Qualifying Two bright and warm afternoons would play host to practice/qualifying for the Argentine Grand Prix, with four sessions scheduled for the teams. Those days were Friday and Saturday, although many teams, including that of home hero Carlos Reutemann, had been at the circuit for a week or more. Target times for the top end of the field would be the pole time from 1974, set by Ronnie Peterson at a 1:50.78. Report Perhaps unsurprisingly, it was the #7 car that ended the session fastest, with Reutemann instantly looking to be the class of the field from his first run on circuit. Come sessions end the Argentine had set a 1:49.93, the only man to set a time under 1:50.00 before the break. Indeed, the most surprising thing about the session would be the man in second place, with Jean-Pierre Jarier making it clear that the new was a force to be reckoned with by recording a 1:50.21. Elsewhere, James Hunt was pushing hard in the to set the third fastest time, the Brit seen dancing around almost every corner from the early stages. That time came after an early change for the Brit, for his original race car had suffered a fuel flow problem and stopped at the back of the circuit, meaning Hunt had an impromptu training session as he jogged back to the pits. The new , meanwhile, was being slowly brought up to speed by Wilson Fittipaldi, while Mark Donohue and Rolf Stommelen were equally patient as they learned the circuit. A drop in temperature saw times also take a dive during the second Friday session, although none could believe who would claim provisional pole overnight. Indeed, Jarier was out at the peak of the session in the Shadow, and a spectacular lap saw the Frenchman record a 1:49.21, although when he returned to the pits he barely looked troubled. Reutemann tried hard but failed to improve, meaning teammate Carlos Pace leapt ahead of him with a 1:49.64. Indeed, the #17 car may well have been in the hands of Peterson had contract negotiations ended differently, although whether those circumstances were at the fore of the Swede's mind was unknown. What was known was the fact that were struggling, both cars being plagued by brake problems and suspect handling. Indeed, Peterson produced the only incident of note during the second Friday session, pirouetting at the fastest corner of the track after a sudden snap of understeer, before removing most of his nose as he went bouncing across the grass. Increased temperatures on Saturday meant it would be difficult for anyone to topple Jarier's overnight best, much to the frustration of the home fans. Try as he might, Reutemann simply could not find enough time in the added heat to improve, and, although he also failed to improve, it was Jarier who ended the session with a better time. Emerson Fittipaldi, meanwhile, had joined the hunt to slot in behind Jarier, setting the best time of the session with a 1:50.02. Away from these elites it was a case of who could look most miserable come sessions end, with countless glum or disinterested drivers across the board. The brightest of them proved to be Mario Andretti, who was creeping up the order after an improvement to the 1:51.00s, while American rival Mark Donohue sat in the pits chasing a mystery issue. Peterson was trying hard but gaining nothing, a contrast to teammate Jacky Ickx who wasn't trying at all, while and were only denied bottom spot by the new, struggling, Fittipaldi car. A drop in temperature during the final hour of running during the fourth and final session promised drivers the chance to improve. Reutemann was one of the many to take the opportunity, although the Argentine cut a frustrated figure come sessions end, his improvement to 1:49.80 not enough to move him into pole. Indeed, Jarier's effort remained untroubled by the chasing pack, with the Frenchman's best effort that afternoon just two hundredths off Reutemann's quali time. Elsewhere, Niki Lauda managed to join the sub-1:50.00 party with a 1:49.96, meaning he lined up in fourth for . Emerson Fittipaldi was frustrated to miss the mark in dying moments of the session, the Brazilian racer having been on target to break the barrier only for a rear wheel to come loose in the final sector. Peterson was miserable outside the top ten, having been edged out by a delighted Andretti after he recorded a 1:51.06. Last on the grid would be the Fittipaldi of Wilson Fittipaldi, the Brazilian failing to record a time within ten seconds of Jarier, but would be allowed to start. Qualifying Results The full qualifying results for the are outlined below: *T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car to set their best time in that session. *'Bold' indicates a driver's best/qualifying time. ** Jarier would not start the race from pole after a failure before the race. Grid ** Jarier would be unable to start the race after a pre-race transmission failure. *† Wilds started from the pitlane after a late issue. Race Raceday proved to be another warm affair, with the usual half an hour long warm-up session allowing teams to test out overnight changes to engines and brakes. Pole sitter Jean-Pierre Jarier, however, would be ruing the team's decision to replace a driveshaft, for he crawled to a halt moments after leaving the garage after it failed and took out the gearbox. His pitcrew scrambled to recover the car and make repairs before the race, but upon seeing the car realised there was little there was nothing they could do to get the car in the race. Report Without the French piloted Shadow in front of him it was a clear track for Carlos Reutemann in third place when the cars formed on the grid, with the Argentine duly sprinting into the lead. As the crowd went into orbit upon seeing their hero take the lead, Carlos Pace slithered into second behind the sister , while Niki Lauda fended off James Hunt and Emerson Fittipaldi for third. The drama came behind them, as Jochen Mass misjudged his braking into the first corner and clattered into Jody Scheckter, meaning both had to limp back to the pits. Come the end of the opening lap it was still Reutemann leading from teammate Pace, while Lauda continued to swat away the combined attentions of Hunt and Fittipaldi. Ronnie Peterson was stalking them after an excellent start, gaining six places after his miserable quali-result, while Clay Regazzoni looked to be having trouble as the rest of the field queued up behind him. Elsewhere, Mass and Scheckter swept into the pits for repairs, while John Watson had rolled to a stop on the exit of the final corner with a disconnected fuel line. Watson's pit crew swarmed to the side of the track to get the Brit back in the action, a decision that would get the #18 disqualified just five laps later. As that was going on, Lauda was trying everything he could to keep Hunt at bay, the Brit's constantly getting its nose along side the as the pair braked for the corners. Their fight allowed Reutemann and Pace to escape up the road, while Peterson was running close enough to Fittipaldi to keep the Brazilian's attentions in the mirrors rather than the race track. The Lauda resistance for third soon faltered under pressure from Hunt, the Brit's Hesketh scything past the on lap eight. Moments after this move and attention snapped to Wilson Fittipaldi, who was seen slamming into the barriers on the straight behind the paddock with next to no control, the car bursting into flame on impact. Fortunately the Brazilian racer was able to leap out of the car before the fire took hold, although was forced to watch as his self built creation was coated by extinguisher. Back with the leaders and Reutemann was beginning to struggle, the Argentine's understeeering noticeably after the opening phases, courtesy of a late change to the suspension by the crew to aid rear tyre wear. That fact allowed teammate Pace to close right up to the back of the Argentine, the #8 car looking far more agile on the infield section. On lap fourteen the inevitable move happened, with Reutemann unable to defend from his teammate when the Brazilian finally launched an attack. Yet, before Pace could establish his lead he managed to throw it away, sending himself into a spin at the scene of Wilson Fittipaldi's accident a few laps earlier. Before he could rejoin the rest of the top runners blasted past, with Reutemann now being harassed by Hunt for the lead. In the midst of this development Jacques Laffite disappeared with a gearbox failure, while Peterson's excellent start to the race was over after an engine failure. Reutemann's re-established lead looked very vulnerable over the following laps, with Hunt throwing his car around behind the Brabham trying to find any route past. Emerson Fittipaldi was slowly closing up to the pair having dispatched with Lauda, leaving the Austrian to fall into the sights of Regazzoni. The Swiss racer himself was fighting with Patrick Depailler, a few yards up the road from an impressive Mario Andretti, only for the Italian-American's to stab him in the back with a suspension failure. Elsewhere, Vittorio Brambilla, Jacky Ickx, Mark Donohue and Arturo Merzario were having an all out scrap to get into the top ten, each one giving as good as he got. Behind, Scheckter was in a personally frustrating loop of pitting for fresh tyres, blasting past backmarkers and then pitting for new tyres again as he battled his suspension damage. Mike Wilds became the latest retirement when his suffered an engine failure, while Pace was beginning to make ground after his confidence knocking pirouette. The lead fight was quickly becoming a three-way affair as the race hit half distance, with Hunt finally elbowing his way past on lap 25. It was a move that opened the door for Emerson Fittipaldi, who had managed to tuck himself right under the Brit's wing moments earlier, meaning there was little Reutemann could do to prevent himself from dropping to third in the space of one corner. Those two soon pulled clear from the Argentine, with attention briefly flashing away to Tom Pryce as the Brit just held onto his after a strange incident on the brakes. The lead fight between Hunt and Fittipaldi would last for ten laps, the Brit expertly placing his Hesketh to deny the Brazilian a clear shot at the lead. Indeed, it seemed as if a supremely calm Hunt had settled into the cockpit after the Hesketh had taken the lead, the Brit not even reacting to Jochen Mass' best efforts to help teammate Fittipaldi when the pair came to lap him. His best opportunity gone, Fittipaldi decided to take a break from attacking, instead sitting in and stalking the Brit to contemplate his next move. Ultimately, it was Hunt who would decide the race, the Brit tipping himself into a spin at the hairpin on lap 35, much to his own frustration. Fittipaldi snuck past as Hunt got himself pointed in the right direction, establishing a sizeable advantage that would keep him ahead for the foreseeable future. Hunt himself managed to recover before Reutemann came to the scene, the Argentine looking set to fall behind his teammate Pace as the Brazilian moved past Lauda for fourth. There would be little action of note after this point, with Lauda ultimately slipping behind teammate Regazzoni and Depailler in the closing stages. Indeed, while Hunt tried his best to catch Fittipaldi, attention focused on Pace, who was quickly drawing in teammmate Reutemann. Whether the Brazilian would have taken the Argentine for a second time became academic, however, for Pace suffered an engine failure with a handful of laps to go. With that the race was run, with Fittipaldi sweeping home to open his title defence with victory, six seconds clear of Hunt, who was battling a suspension issue in the closing stages. Reutemann was frustrated in third, the late change to his suspension costing him his best shot at a home win, while Regazzoni was a distant fourth. Depailler and Lauda completed the scorers after their late scrap, those two being the last to finish on the lead lap. Results The full results for the are outlined below: ** Pryce was still classified despite retiring as he had completed 90% of the race distance. *† Merzario, in contrast, could not be classified as he failed to complete 90% of the race distance. *‡ Watson disqualified for receiving repairs outside of his pit box. Championship Debutants Cars *Brabham BT44Bhttp://www.chicanef1.com/racetit.pl?year=1975&gp=Argentine%20GP&r=1 *Fittipaldi FD01 *Hesketh 308B *Shadow DN3B *Shadow DN5 *Williams FW01 *Williams FW02 Manufacturers *The first and final entry for *The first entry and race of *The first entry and race for Williams as a manufacturer. Sponsors *Valovoline Milestones *Jean-Pierre Jarier had scored his first pole position as well as the first for his team, , their sponsors UOP and for car number 17. * had made their 25th appearance in Formula One to which James Hunt would then score the team's first and only fastest race lap. *The first pole position for Jean-Pierre Jarier. *The 25th race entry for Mario Andretti. *100th race for Texaco as a lubricant manufacturer and sponsor. *Tom Pryce made his 10th grand prix start. * supplied engines for the 100th time. *Jean-Pierre Jarier earned a maiden pole position. *Thirteenth victory for Emerson Fittipaldi. * claimed victory for the thirteenth time. **Engine partner Ford Cosworth triumphed for the 79th time. Records Broken *Jacky Ickx had broken the record for most 8th place finishes. His seventh 8th place had meant he had broken the previous record of six held by Jean-Pierre Beltoise, Jo Bonnier, Jo Siffert, Louis Rosier and Maurice Trintignant. *Graham Hill had broken the record for most 10th place finishes. His sixth 10th place had meant he had broken the previous record of five held by Carel Godin de Beaufort and Dan Gurney. * had broken the record for most fourth place qualifications, finishes and fastest laps. Having achieved this feat three times, the team moved ahead of and on two. Records Extended *Most Constructors' Championship points scored - (187) *Most Retirements - (290) *Most Drivers' Championship points scored - (319) *Most 4th place finishes - (56) *Most 6th place finishes - (41) *Most 15th fastest laps - (33) *Most race entries for a manufacturer - (678) *Most race entries for a driver - Graham Hill (176) *Most 4th place qualifications - (61) *Most 7th place qualifications - (70) *Most 18th place qualifications - (25) *Most 21st place qualifications - Graham Hill (7) Standings It was as perfect an opening to a title defence that Emerson Fittipaldi could have hoped for, the Brazilian having scored maximum points at the opening round. James Hunt started a promising campaign in second, while Carlos Reutemann was third having been denied a home victory once again. 1974 runner up Clay Regazzoni was next in fourth, with Patrick Depailler and Niki Lauda completing the early score board. had an early lead in the International Cup for Manufacturers' standings, opening their account with maximum points. were up in a best ever position of second, albeit after just one race, while ended the opening weekend in third having finished second and third in qualifying. and were the only other scorers. The lack of points was a great disappointment for . References Images and Videos: * References: Category:Grand Prix articles Category:Argentine Grand Prix Category:1975 Grands Prix